2001 Dodge Grand Caravan Sport
This is Wierd what has happened over the past week, my fathers '01 Grand Caravan V6 3.3liter auto van was past due for an oil change and I was riding with him and all of a sudden one day when he shifted from P to D it does this jerking motion, like thump and you can feel the jerk, like Its from the transmission, but there shoudl be absolutely NOTHING wrong woth the trans because he never abuses it or shifts like a teenager does with a car. I just took ti to get the oil & filter changed 26 minutes ago and I used Pennzoil high mileage and a k&n oil filter and it still kinda jerks a little and also the rpms are higher than normal, doing 3.600 at 40mph. And 4000 rpm at 55mph so I'm like WTF !? o_O it usually turns 2000 going at 45mph.
You didn't mention if the check engine light is on or not, I'm assuming it is. My guess would be the "coil pack" on the transmission, I have two caravans with same problem, and had two other Dodge cars same prob. One thing the c-p does is tell the computer what gear the trans is in (explanation coming from my mechanic), when it goes out you have a low voltage situation, so the computer doesn't know what gear the van is in, and will put the trns into "limp mode". Normally you can turn off the engine and recrank and it will fix the problem temporarily.
Yeah check engine light is on. My uncle brought a trusted mechanic by and he did a code check on it and turns out he said it was a transmission fail the computer read, mechanic says its the transmission shift solenoid that's bad and need replacing because when you shift from Park to Drive it kinda grunts and thrusts / jumps like it gives the control to Drive violently and supposedly would lead to high rpms at low speed, like in this case doesn't fully engage the gear and does 4000 revolutions and its only going.40mph, is what the mechanic said., and a new trans shift solenoid costs 160 bucks new, + labor, so just in case I'm going to replace The Sparkplugs and wires Tomarrow, then will have mechanic do that and see of that fixes it.
The Shift Solenoid is what I was talking about, just couldn't remember just what it was called. $160 wow, the one for my 97 is $60.
Yeah, and I checked that's legitimately what the part alone costs, but if thats what will make it run like new then that's what its gonna be. Dodge parts are expensive.
for trail and error purposes try friction modifier dump half a bottle (75ml roughly) take it for a spin and see if that makes a difference helped on other caravans.
I was told to run another ground wire to the shift solenoid, it worked trans now shifts correctly, and the cruise has started working correctly again.
Could my problem be the shift solenoid too? My van seems like it goes into gear but the vehicle doesn't actually move. Check engine light is on. Can not go anywhere seems like it is stuck in park.
i know this is an old post but regularly your van was hitting 2,000 at 45?!?! i have the same van, 3.3 grand caravan 2001 model and it does 2 grand at like 70mph.
I have a question guys sorry for intrude... But my van was in knee deep water... It got stuck... We got it out and it was still running and driving... After about ten minutes up rode it killed... Now it's not starting at all... It still turn Ova barely... I been waiting on it to dry out... But still doing Nuthing... Can anyone help me out please... My van is our life and transportation for my wife to get back and forth to work...we been paying for rides lately. Help
never put a friction modifier in a dodge automatic transmission that specifies atf+4. the modifier package in atf+4 is designed for dodge electronic controlled clutch packs, a very different design than other transmissions. you'll likely damage the transmission. besides, when something isn't working correctly, using additives to fix the problem is costly nonsense. the Solenoid Pack is the likely culprit. not hard to replace if you make sure zero dirt gets into the transmission control lines underneath the solenoid pack.
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